Carrying a Jurassic on me-Chapter 1326 - 646

The armed forces department is located at the southern end of the intersection, and the police station on the east side, both less than a hundred meters away from the beef restaurant—truly close, no need for anyone to specifically seek out the other.

After hanging up the phone, Old Pan stood up and called Yan Fei over, "Come on, you’re all young, you should be able to find common ground. I’ve told you before to avoid any appearance of conflict, but I never meant for you to avoid dealing with the chief of the police station altogether. Stop being reluctant and hurry up."

Yan Fei was genuinely hesitant about coming; he felt that this chief played a role in Lin Baoguo being pushed out, which irked him somewhat. Besides, he thought as long as he took good care of his own business, there was no need to interact with this chief.

However, Old Pan was thinking further ahead. Since this case had come up, Yan Fei had been making some subtle moves behind the scenes, and Old Pan wondered if this might cause Officer Xu to develop a sense of resistance?

It was quite normal to think that way—Officer Xu was also young and the head of the station, newly in charge. With someone meddling behind his back in matters within his jurisdiction, and without even a heads-up—it wasn’t just about youthful impetuosity; even if he weren’t young, it would be quite normal for him to harbor some resistance, and no one could accuse him of being petty-minded.

So, Old Pan believed that it wouldn’t be worth it if, because of Yan Fei’s subtle moves, Officer Xu developed a resistance and stubbornly held onto his own views.

Furthermore, this problem was quite easy to resolve. Both Yan Fei and Xu Changsheng were young men; sharing a meal and a few drinks together could break the ice, and naturally, any issue would disappear.

In reality, Old Pan was overthinking it. Officer Xu had been somewhat upset initially, but after Shang Jin arrived, he was left with nothing but indecision and couldn’t afford to focus on feeling resistant to anyone else.

The three of them ordered some small dishes at the beef restaurant and chatted over drinks, without discussing the theft incident—there was no need to say it, Officer Xu would be a fool if he didn’t understand their intentions.

Shang Jin had previously come to talk as a representative of the local employees, and now with Yan Fei showing his face as a civilian representative, it signified that the entire community had unified their stance, which was enough for Xu Changsheng to get the hint.

As for how Xu Changsheng would choose after that, it was out of their hands—everyone had given him face, and if he insisted on being obstinate, then he shouldn’t expect cooperation when he encountered problems at work in the future. Having alienated everyone, what did he expect them to do?

As the three were enjoying their meal and chatting, a family that was clearly recognizable entered the beef restaurant. Upon seeing the seated group, the leader greeted them warmly, "Are the three leaders here for a meal too?"

Xu Changsheng was still not very familiar with the people on the street, but the person who just came in looked familiar to him. Old Pan and Yan Fei, however, knew him very well: it was Old Tong, who was in the clothing business.

When Old Tong saw Old Pan and Officer Xu, he wasn’t overly affectionate, but he had to be warm to Yan Fei—as his facility often ordered work clothes and the like, Old Tong regarded him as a major patron.

So after a brief chat, Old Tong had his wife and children eat on the side while he moved over to offer a toast.

Old Pan asked casually: "What’s this? You’re not eating at home at this hour?"

Old Tong chuckled, "I’ve been too busy with business to mind."

"Being busy is good news; not being busy during the holidays is the real concern. Boss Tong, you’re on the way to making a fortune!" Old Pan teased him with a smile. "After becoming a big boss, don’t forget about us poor neighbors!"

"With the business going like this, you might be right—I really could make a fortune." Old Tong didn’t shy away from saying it, confident that none of the three drinking with him would compete with his business. "I’ve never seen business so booming during the holidays before. I almost cleared out all the stock I had left over from previous years. Working hard from dawn to dusk, the whole family is exhausted, so I thought, might as well not cook and come out for a meal... Look, I’m going to down this first, however much I drink is what I pour, the usual rules."

Old Pan quickly demurred, "You shouldn’t, I hardly dare to drink much these days. Drink with these two instead!"

"Don’t wave it off, just one for the gesture. Alright, after this one, I’ll pour another, and you keep going—good things come in pairs." Old Tong, who was street-smart, was well aware of his drinking capacity and after he had enough, he turned to Officer Xu, "Officer Xu, this is our first drink together, I’ll drink first, you watch, no fooling around..."

Xu Changsheng didn’t hold back either, and after drinking two, Old Tong continued, "I run a clothing store opposite the police station, we’re practically neighbors. Drinking only two doesn’t seem right, let’s have some more..."

Meeting someone like Old Tong, Officer Xu really couldn’t outtalk him, but Old Tong just encouraged him to drink four and then stopped urging.

When it came to Yan Fei, he had a lot more to say, "Boss Yan, Xiao Fei, come on..."

Yan Fei reached out to stop him as he held up his glass, "Uncle Tong, let’s not stand on ceremony with each other. I know what you want to say, and you know my alcohol limit. Let’s just clink glasses once and that’ll do!"

Old Tong was taken aback for a moment and then nodded decisively, "Alright!"

All he wanted to say was that Yan Fei had looked after his business, but Yan Fei had known him since he was a child, and now they got along every day. To say those polite words again was really unnecessary. freēnovelkiss.com

Still, it had to be said. After the two clinked glasses, Old Tong was full of emotion, "My business is doing well now, and when I think about it, I really have to thank you. It wasn’t like this before when people from the village bought clothes, they really struck it big. I had quite a good business with the winter clothes for a while, and now there’s another surge. This year has been busy, but not in vain; it was like winning a turnaround battle."

Seeing three people’s confused looks, he laughed and explained, "In the past, our villagers only bought winter clothes during the New Year, but now I guess they have money in their hands. The business was good when it got cold before. Where did that money come from, if not from God of Wealth Yan. Ha, ha!"

Old Pan understood as soon as he heard it and laughed too, "Before, we had no money. Who would buy clothes if not during the New Year? Only then would we grit our teeth and buy a set. Now that we’ve got a little money, it makes sense to buy clothes as soon as it gets cold."

In the Wan City area, sometimes it’s no longer the coldest around the New Year. In years with a warmer climate, the willow trees would have already sprouted buds by the New Year.

So waiting until the New Year to buy new clothes also indicated one thing: poverty.

When you actually have money, buying clothes as the seasons change is normal. Why wait until the New Year to do so?

Old Tong also laughed, "That’s right, that’s right. In the past, we just made do with what we had, without money we couldn’t be picky. Now, as soon as life gets a bit better, you see not many people are willing to just make do."

His talk about being picky and making do made everyone at the table burst into laughter.

Seeing everyone happy, Old Tong added something to lighten the mood, "I’m not just making this up. You guys might not know, but the work clothes I originally made for Boss Yan’s place, now I can even sell them to the villagers. Xiao Fei, don’t take offense, those don’t have the place’s name on them. The villagers say it’s good to wear work clothes when working, saves ruining their regular clothes. You tell me, isn’t that being particular?"

Actually, some people also said that wearing clothes like those from the place could bring some of the place’s financial luck, but Old Tong didn’t need to mention that reason.

Originally, with three people there, only Old Pan was leading the conversation, and the atmosphere wasn’t too lively. Now with Old Tong coming over and back-and-forthing with Old Pan, everyone unconsciously started to get a little tipsy—Boss Yan was just faking it, otherwise, if everyone else got tipsy and only he sat there soberly drinking like it was water, that would be no fun, right?

When the group was finally leaving, upon exiting the restaurant doors, Old Pan and Officer Xu said their goodbyes, "It’s just a short walk. Officer Xu, you’ll be fine walking back, right?"

Xu Changsheng waved his hands, "No problem, no problem. The streets are bright, what could happen that I wouldn’t find my way home?"

Old Pan, smiling, added, "That’s true. Not to brag, but among the dozens of townships in our county, our village is unique with these streetlights, not just complete but lit every day. They’re a bit outdated now, not bright enough. But there’s no hurry. Our village is developing better and better, we’ll eventually replace them with the fancy streetlights from big cities... ah, Officer Xu, take care..."

Officer Xu hesitated for a moment, then waved at the others behind him, "Minister Pan, Boss Yan, Old Tong, take care on your way back. I’m off. I need to finish up the remaining work at the station tomorrow to get ready for the New Year..."

Truth be told, none of them had drunk too much!

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